Followed
by SpottedeyestheAmazing
Summary: (Sequel to Missing) Sonic the hedgehog has finally returned— and Emma Burns is more puzzled than ever. Between her old life, her new one, and the constant nightmares, it seems the world is trying its best to break her.
1. Chapter 1

Here it is guys– the long awaited first chapter of "Missing"! Sorry for taking so long. As always, comment, vote– you do you, I'll do me, and we won't do each other. M'kay? M'kay. Enjoy!

"There were at least fifty of 'em, all dressed in black, all staring at me without any eyes. I thought I could out race them. And I did, of course! Except, there was one way up ahead that I hadn't noticed...until..it popped out and grabbed me!"

Small gasps emitted from the small forms of Cream, Tails, and Cheese accompanied by Amy. Their eyes were as big as softballs as they stared up at the blue hedgehog who was kindly telling his story of misfortune. I watched from the side, amused at their reactions. The lights were off, besides a flashlight Sonic used for a creepier affect. His emerald green eyes gleamed in the dark, and it seemed, if only for a moment, that they could glow.

Vanilla sat on the other side of me, drooping with exhaustion but still smiling at her daughter's excitement. She'd spent the whole day with Amy and Cream preparing this Halloween party. I felt bad for not helping, but it was a Monday, meaning it was still a school day.

"I tried fighting 'em off, but there were too many. They tied me up and teleported to a dark cabin. I must've passed out 'cause I woke up some time later strapped down to a wooden table."

I'd heard this story a million times since he'd been back, but it was apparent he never got tired of telling it. Luckily, none of us ever tired of hearing it.

"It was the same room I'd seen in my nightmares. For days they kept me locked in there. They'd send someone to feed me every few hours, and there were some that would even speak to me."

"About what?" Cream probed. Sonic frowned.

"I'm not sure. I'm still a little fuzzy about the whole thing. Anyways, days turned to months and I was still stuck on that table. Then, one day as one came in to feed me, he let me out of my chains. Told me to run. So I did, and I kicked a few butts as revenge while doing it."

"Why did he let you go?" Tails asked. Sonic shrugged.

"Maybe he had a change of heart."

"You could've been stuck down there forever if he hadn't." Amy muttered with worry in her gaze.

"Nah. Eventually I would've gotten out on my own." He grinned. I pushed back the urge to say something snarky. I wasn't about to ruin his story after all that had happened.

"It sounds like they wanted you to go." Tails said thoughtfully.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Sonic scowled. His little brother barely winced as he gave his explanation.

"You had to be sore after laying down for so long, especially on that table. If you couldn't fight them off when you were in shape, I doubt you could've escaped after not running for a year."

I silently agreed with Tails. The whole ordeal had sounded fishy to me. What was worse, we still had no idea who they were or where they were hiding. Sonic himself had rushed back a week ago for a bit of revenge. There was nothing but dense forest.

"If only you could remember what they said to you." Amy spoke. They shared exasperated glances. To my surprise, Cream looked back at me with a smile.

"Why don't you tell your story, Miss Emma?" She asked. I rubbed my arm with embarrassment as all eyes landed on me.

"I don't think that's a good idea." I protested. My side of the story wasn't exactly a happy one. Not to mention my home life hadn't been the greatest. Still isn't.

"I kinda want to hear your story. You've never told us it." Amy stated.

"I mean, it's probably not as good as mine, but–"

"Fine, fine." I cut Sonic off. He smirked, handing me the flashlight. I gave it a funny look, but started talking anyway.

I told them about seeing the metal ship during my fifth period class. How it let loose an army of small robots that were actually very useless. I frowned when talking about my first encounter with Eggman, and about the moment he said I'd never be Sonic. Cream lit up with delight as I spoke about her, Vanilla, and Rouge. I explained the choice I was given, and what caused me to become the next hero of Möbius.

"So you said yes because your granddad killed a coyote?" Sonic butted in. Amy elbowed him, whispering that he shouldn't be so rude.

"In his defense, the kid was apparently sick with some fatal disease. The hospital took it away to do a scan. He could've wiped out the entire town." I stated.

"He couldn't have taken him to a hospital?" Sonic pushed. I shifted with discomfort.

"I..I don't know." I muttered. My eyes traveled to the floor, embarrassment falling over me. Could he had done something different?

"How'd you meet Amy?" Tails suddenly brought up. I was relieved for the distraction.

"Rouge brought me to her for training. Apparently my spinballs weren't top notch." I feigned a sigh. Sonic flicked the tip of his nose and leaned back in his seat.

"That reminds me...after this, I'll have to give ya some real practice."

Amy scowled, but otherwise stayed silent. Cream giggled at her friend's reaction and Tails rolled his eyes.

"Amy was a great coach, mind you." I fake glared at him," And it sure helped later on. After my next encounter with ole Eggy, I was promised a real fight."

I winced as I continued, recalling the dumb mistakes I had made.

"Sadly, I was out of town when it happened. There was no service, so I didn't receive any texts or calls till the week after when I finally came back. But by then, everyone was already kinda mad at me."

"Well, you did leave without telling us." Amy said. Tails rubbed the back of his neck as he added on.

"Yeah. A warning would've been nice."

Sonic furrowed his eyebrows as he started firing questions.

"Where'd ya go?"

"The beach." I shuddered. He snickered as he noticed.

"Did the trip scare ya?"

"Not the trip itself." I muttered," My Granny dragged me into the water to catch some fish and I was attacked by a flipping jellyfish."

They all flinched, besides Cream, who hugged Cheese with wide eyes.

"Did it hurt?"

I shrugged," Not at first. When I go on my runs, I zone out and lose track of where I'm going. I finally ran through so many ant beds and thorns that I lost most of the feeling in my legs."

"Maybe you should have that checked..." Amy said.

"Meh, it's fine. The jellyfish wrapped it's tentacles around my leg and put the feeling back into it." I chuckled dryly," Anyway, Eggman attacked one day after school. My poppy just happened to glance at the TV before he announced it. I rushed as fast as I could to the fight and did my best to help out."

"And we kicked butt!" Tails finished, high-fiving Sonic.

"Yep!" I agreed," And then you showed up at my house days later."

Amy shifted in her seat uneasily, as if I had said something wrong.

"Did you and your mom ever make up?" She asked. I pretended she didn't ask and stood up with a stretch. My hand reached for my phone as I took a quick glance at it. My heart skipped a beat as the numbers 10:43 flashed across the screen.

"Mother of Chaos! I've gotta get home!" I cursed. I grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair I was sitting in and slipped it on.

"Will you stop by tomorrow?" Vanilla asked. I watched as the others circled around Amy as she prepared to tell one of her stories. I smiled, observing the gleeful faces of each anticipated listener. Call it luck or destiny, but someway, somehow, I got tangled up in this group's messes. And I loved every minute of it.

"Yeah." I answered," I'll stop by here after school."

"Good." I sensed her hesitance," Amy told me...about your mom and dad. How are you taking it?"

I flushed and looked elsewhere. A few days back Tyler started sending me weird messages. Ones about Dad. He said he had a new girlfriend– a wack job named Virginia– and they broke into Nan's house while she was away. When Dad got in trouble, he practically flipped off the entire family. Said it was just him and Virginia now. He told Tyler he was going to move somewhere far away where none of us could find them.

I had a break down that day. Right in front of Amy. All my home problems kept pouring out. From Mom, to poor Tyler being moved into Aunt Tara's home. I hadn't expected her to tell Vanilla.

"I'm better, I guess." I told her quietly," But Rose doesn't want him as our dad anymore, and Tyler is going through therapy."

She nodded in understanding, casting a quick gaze at Cream.

"I couldn't imagine putting Cream through something like that." She whispered. I forced a smile and a sad laugh.

"Yeah. You're doing amazing with her." I said. The young rabbit was leaning in, almost as if she believed she was in the story herself.

"Thank you, Emma. And remember you always have a place here."

I turned to her, nodding at her kindness. My granny had told me the same thing. She didn't like me staying at home when Mom was in one of "those moods".

"The party was great. Night guys!" I called before slipping out the door. The cool night air hit me with a pleasant feeling. Autumn had always been a favorite season of mine. I faced the way home, ready to race away at the push of my foot. And yet, I halted. Ever since that fateful day that my secret came out, I found myself questioning whether to return home or not. Sure my family would miss me, but...

I shook my head and braced myself again. It was home. It was where I belonged. I bursted forward with great speed and didn't look back.


	2. Chapter 2

Today was the day people would realize their true first priorities– at least, that's what Mr. Welder said about it. One of the bigger clubs in our school was holding a field trip to the movies. I watched as over half of my class departed at the intercom's call for the buses. Including Mia. She flashed me a thumbs up before following the rest of the crowd. That left me and Chloe to finish our writing packet without her. For the most part it wasn't so bad. We practically got to write whatever we wanted as long as it followed the regulations. Mr. Welder even allowed cursing in our papers.

Only problem was that I was a terrible writer, and every idea I came up with turned out to be trashy.

Eventually, my gaze traveled around the room in pure boredom. What first caught my eye was my teacher's frustrated look. His narrowed eyes were fixated on a single object on the floor, though I couldn't see what it was.

I watched with dull interest as he stepped up to whatever was bothering him. He smiled brightly at me, noticing that I was staring.

"I hate hairballs." He chuckled. I tossed him a funny glance as he scooted the said hairball across the floor with his foot. All heads went up when he exited the room. Questions were thrown at me since apparently I had been the only one to witness the strange scene. Why had he left? What was he pushing?

Five minutes later, he waltzed back in with that same goofy smile.

"I had to find the janitor." He shrugged. I bit back a laugh, shaking my head down at my paper. The chuckling died down when the phone rang. Mr. Welder stared daggers at it for two solid minutes. He only picked it up only after it stopped ringing. Calling him weird would be an understatement.

"Yeah. Yes. Yes she is. Why? That's a bunch of bull!"

We listened with silence, ears swiveling in his direction.

"Are you sure? You positive? Fine, fine." He sighed and placed the phone down. He turned to us, grumbling about how terrible our system was.

"Miss Burns," He started. I inwardly died. There were two options. One was me being checked out. The other was me going to the office. At the moment, neither seemed like pleasant scenarios. To my delighted surprise, it was neither of those.

"You're needed on the other end of town. Something about an egg." Mr. Welder stated. I grinned, relief falling over me. I looked over at Chloe to see if she could move my stuff if I wasn't back in time, but she tensed up when I opened my mouth. Confusion and worry wormed itself into my system. Had I done something wrong? I couldn't think of anything that I screwed up recently...

"Time is a ticking Miss Burns." Mr. Welder suddenly spoke. I blinked my thoughts clear and looked back at another kid. Once they agreed, I dashed at the highest speed I could run all the way to the fight. It wasn't difficult to find. Anyone could hear the crashes of a giant bot, mixed with the loud curses of a fat man. Just as expected, Sonic and Tails were seen buzzing around a robot with spikes and sharp pointed arms, almost like swords, while Eggman's voice screeched from an unseen speaker.

I dashed beneath the action, looking for a good vantage point. Tails and Sonic were acting like fine distractions for the moment. But then again, it was no longer my place to be the hero. I thought that if I could come in for a surprise hit, one that might not only blind side Eggy but also do just a tad bit of damage, then Sonic could take care of the rest. There was no need to communicate with him of the plan, as he would already know what to do once I did my part.

I raced up a building behind the bot, carefully aiming at my target. Sonic spotted me first, flashing me a quick grin before sprinting around Eggman. If I wanted to do something, now was the time. Unless I wanted my cover to be blown. I took a few precautionary steps back and made a burst of speed forward until I reached the edge. My foot pushed off, casting me high above the robot's head. I landed hard on the top, quicky gathering my sense before leaning over the front. My head hung right in front of the machine's "eyes" and did everything I could to taunt it. I waved, tapped on the glass, and even stuck my tongue out at it.

"GET OFF YOU PINK BRAT!!"

Yep. Good times. I flashed it a confident smirk before standing up. I turned, finally catching the eye of Sonic. He stood on the building I had been on, leaning on the edge as of studying the bot. I turned and hopped down off the contraption, one limb at a time, until I reached the ground. Tails was high in the sky, swerving his plane around it's head. Lasers flashed between the short distance of the two machines.

Two seconds passed before the bot lurched forward and stumbled in it's tracks. I sprinted to the side, watching with growing satisfaction as it collapsed in a heap. A gaping hole stretched it's center, wires and sharp broken metal protruding from the entrance.

"Hey there!"

I flinched as Sonic popped up beside me, mildly surprised at his sudden greeting. I gave a "hi" back whilst watching Tails land us plane. The kitsune practically flew out of the pilot's seat and landed in front of me with a bright smile.

"Hey Emma!" He greeted. I fist bumped him, a grin slowly spreading across my features.

"Nice battle." I noted.

"Yep." Sonic smirked," You're welcome, by the way."

I bit my lip with a frown, wondering what I had to thank him for.

"For what?" I asked.

"For getting you out of school."

Oh.

"Technically Eggman did that."

"Who do you think called the school?"

"I was hoping the authorities. You know, since my name has traveled pretty fast through town."

He crossed his arms with a chuckle," Don't get cocky, now."

"Err...guys?"

I looked down at Tails, who was trying his best to discreetly glance at the small crowd gathering around us. I nodded with understanding, immediately catching the hint.

"Right. See you guys later!" I grinned and walked away.

Walking into my history class, I was met with excited chatter and a bombardment of questions. The only one's staying seated were Micheal and Leon.

"Were you hurt?"

"How dumb was Eggman?"

"Was Sonic there?"

"CLASS!"

Immediately, the other students thinned out and took their seats. The teacher stared at me, then glanced at my desk. I nodded and took my place by Micheal. All my stuff was there, just as I had asked.

Our teacher wasn't very interactive. There would be a lesson up on the board, one that would take up the entire class period and keep us busy while he snoozed at his computer. But we had his little game figured out, and by now we'd master the art of silent "teamwork". Some shared answers in groups, others in pairs. Micheal and I were different. We had competitions to see who was smarter and faster. Whoever came out with the highest grade won. Now that I think about it, the entire ordeal was idiotic. Clearly we were putting our grades on the line by doing it.

There was no point in our conversations or actions. Not to us, anyways. In the cluttered world I lived in, he was one of the few constants.

"So," He whispered," how was it?"

I barely met his gaze as a smirk formed on my lips.

"Not bad." I quipped," But it could've been better."


	3. Chapter 3

I have FINALLY returned after months of things! Sorry for the sucky chapter, and as an apology I will be uploading twice. Rr!

"I can't take you with me."

 _ **"Please, Daddy?"**_

 _ **"I'm sorry, babygirl."**_

Nothing could top the rush I felt when running. Absolutely nothing. No roller coaster could beat my twists and no car could compare with my speed. It was even better now that I was able to race freely through Station Square.

At the same time...Things weren't perfect.

Upon entering Vanilla's cottage, I was greeted by an unusual sight.

"Shadow??"

The said hedgehog was seated in one of the chairs, a stoic visage meeting my shocked expression. Admittedly I spent more time with the gang than at home or school, and I'd gotten to know each member because of it. As far as I knew about Shadow, he didn't stop by here a lot. Or anywhere that wasn't a mission, for that matter.

"You seem surprised." He stated with that annoying monotone voice.

"I...Uh...Yeah. Yeah, I am." I admitted with the awkwardness of a potato,"Where's everyone else?"

"They're not your concern right now." He growled bluntly. My mouth went agape.

"You killed them."

"I find your naivety annoying." He nodded his head at the back door," They're all outside."

"If I walk out there and find a pile of dead bodies-"

"Shut up and listen." He snapped. Instantly my jaw snapped in place. He stood up to his full height with a deep scowl.

"You need training. I've been asked to be your teacher."

"Why you?" I frowned.

He passed me and clutched the front door knob.

"I am the Ultimate Lifeform."

I was forced to follow him without so much as checking on the gang. My trail of bread crumbs was a black and red blur. I couldn't ask where we were going or what the "Ultimate Lifeform" meant. My mind entertained itself with the worst scenarios and outcomes possible.

When we finally reached our destination, my whole world stopped.

"No." I shook my head," Absolutely not."

He had dragged me all the way to G.U.N. Headquarters. My legs almost buckled beneath me and it took every last bit of self control to not turn and escape.

"You don't have a choice." Shadow said. He started walking around the facility, then stopped and turned to me with an obvious look.

"Isn't there somewhere else we can do this?" I asked.

"It's just a building." He retorted," And despite what you think, I'm not homicidal."

I brought my hands behind my back and pinched down on my left wrist with as much force as I could muster.

"F-Fine." I stuttered," We'll do it your way..."

His crimson eyes bore holes into my head as I stepped up to his side. But even when we reached our "battlefield", I refused to take my gaze from the ground.

"Look up." He snapped. For whatever unknown reason, I did what he said. Maybe it was his tone. Maybe I was breaking. I was hoping it was the first rather than the former. Otherwise this would make for a very terrible first practice.

We spent the next hour and a half working on my spinball technique and defense. Who knew there was so much to curling up and smashing? He made me fix my coordination, my balance, even going so far as to tweak my form. Nothing I did was right in his eyes, and he was the worst target for me. One moment he'd be right in front of me, and not a nanosecond later he'd be behind my back. I couldn't figure it out. What made him so lithe?

By the end I was choking on air. The fear from before had switched to anxiety, and then morphed into hopelessness. I told myself I couldn't do it. If I couldn't do so much as a spinball, there was no way I could still go on missions. I was through with it.

"Again." He growled. I straightened myself up and prepared a stance. Ducking, revving, aiming. The only thing I collided with was the ground.

"You're still too hesitant." He snapped," Every time you charge up, you wait too long to hit. If I were a real enemy, I would've killed you by now."

"Then do it." I mumbled.

"What?"

I staggered to my feet, back facing him, and stared at my splotchy wrist blankly.

"Nothing." I sighed," Just being pessimistic."

I turned for another try, and I knew he didn't believe me. His arms were crossed and his eyebrows were furrowed in a glower.

"Agent Shadow!"

His focus shifted to a heavy chipmunk headed our way. All my instincts told me to turn away. But I didn't. I couldn't let Shadow see a moment of weakness. Not without him casting me some cynical remark.

"I've been looking all over for you!" The chipmunk said. Up close, I noticed a thin folder under his arm.

"Here you go." He shoved the papers into the hedgehog's hand. The he saluted and marched off.

"You know him." Shadow stated blandly as soon as the guy was out of hearing distance.

"I'd rather not discuss it." I told him. My eyes peeled away from the worker and landed on the folder.

"What's that?"

"Paperwork." He grumbled.

"For what?"

"Completing a mission."

I wrinkled my muzzle in distaste. He caught my look and gave a "hmph".

"I suppose that ends today's training." He stated. I gave a mental fist pump and went to leave. Then I stopped. I wanted to say "thanks" or ask why he was doing this. Why go out of his way to mentor some helpless kid?

But instead, I shot him a glare and said," I'm going back to Vanilla's. They better be alive and breathing when I get there."


	4. Chapter 4

Drowsiness still fogged my mind when I woke up. I slept better than usual that night. It didn't alarm me. Not at first, anyway. I just figured it was from the work out I had the day before. Dapple and Tramp were already awake, bouncing on my bed like it was a trampoline. For once we stayed the night at home. That was nothing short of a miracle. It was rare for me to be at my house for more than an hour, let alone three days. It was awkward in the beginning, what with being ignored by Mom and all. But eventually she didn't even drag herself out of bed unless she had to take us to school or use the bathroom. To be honest, I was starting to worry about her health. I knew she was off of work for the next week, but it wasn't like her to be this lazy.

Once dressed and packed for school, my sights were set on the outside world and what the day had in store for me. The hard part was waiting on Rose. She took half the morning fixing her hair. I barely had time to brush my teeth before we left, let alone do anything with my quills. But it wasn't always a bad thing. Poppy often commented on how long she took compared to me. I had to admit, it felt good to be better than her at some things. Even if those things weren't so important.

Our departure was anything but silent. Every morning, Dapple and Tramp had this urge to follow us to school. Despite our attempts to keep them distracted by leaving fruit out, they still tried their best to dash out with us.

Getting there before school had it's perks. I could sit behind the gym and blast my music without anyone getting suspicious or feeling sorry for me until the buses arrived. One person knew of my morning hiding spot. One person knew what I would be doing and how important it was to me. But at the same time, that person was the one to brighten my day.

If the wind was chilly, I took no notice of it. I didn't mind the new grass stains on my jeans or the noisy football players from the field. In fact, they almost didn't exist to me. That all changed when someone rudely yanked out my ear buds. I turned to snap at the person, only to soften up.

"What's up, Lady?" I asked. The dark wolf grinned at me with uncontrolled happiness.

"Guess who's with me?" She asked. I tried peering behind her to catch a glimpse, but she moved right back in my way. I huffed and started thinking of names.

"Mia?"

"No."

"Callie?"

"Nope."

"Micheal?"

"God no!!" She jumped back as if I'd just slapped her," Why would you even say that???"

A laugh escaped my lips at her sudden change in attitude. She and Micheal had been a thing a few years back. We all thought they were perfect. Till the day things at home turned for the worst and he had to break her heart.

"Fine, fine. Who is it then?"

Just like that, the grin returned. She stepped to the side slowly and deliberately. My breathing stopped. Standing behind her the whole time was none other than Tyler. Without thinking or hesitating I jumped up and dashed into him for a hug.

"Whoa, easy there, Speedy!" He laughed as he fell back a step. The nickname hit my heart hard.

"Speedy?" Lady snorted after a moment. I parted away from Tyler and gave her a sideways smile.

"It's something he called me when we were little." I explained.

"But it still fits." Tyler put in. His silver eyes flashed with happiness that I hadn't seen in forever.

"So...why are you here?" I asked.

He placed a hand on his chest in feigned hurt. "Is that how you treat me after all this time?"

I punched him lightly with a playful scowl.

"Seriously, man. I thought you and Dad were hitting the road?" I asked. He flinched and noticeably fell.

"After he ditched me at Tara's, she decided it was time for me to go back to school."

"Where's Dad now?" I asked. He shrugged and averted my gaze.

"Didn't say. If I had to guess, though, he's probably somewhere in New Mobotropolis. That was always his favorite stop on tours."

His eyes flashed with sadness. It hurt to see him like that. It also angered me. Tyler didn't deserve this. Mom didn't, Rose didn't, and I sure as hell didn't. Why was the old man still acting like a child?

"He can't stay like this forever." I muttered," Sooner or later he'll wake up, realize what he's left, and come back home."

"You've gotta lot more faith in him than I do." Tyler stated. Beneath his broken smile were the words "typical daddy's girl". Because that's what everyone thought of me. When Dad's name was mentioned, people walked on eggshells around me. They thought I would blow. They truly believed I couldn't handle it.

"Enough of that!" Lady bounced," Did Emma ever tell you 'bout her new job?"

All the blood rushed to my cheeks.

"What job?" He frowned. Lady chuckled at my timid state and led my confused brother aside.

"Oh? You're going to love this story, then!!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Temporalis."

"Uh...The temporal bone."

"Orbicular Oculi."

"The, um, frontal bone and maxillae."

"Frontalis."

Everything went blank. Not the frontal bone. The cranial...Cranial...

"UGH, I DON'T KNOW!!!" I cried, head smashing against my desk. Several pairs of eyes burned through my skin. Silent sniggering chorused throughout the class. Stupid hypocrites. If they'd been in my place, the same thing would've happened to them.

"Chill!" Mia giggled," What is the origin of the Frontalis?"

"The cranial something-or-other." My muffled voice answered. The embarrassment was still too much for me.

"The cranial aponeurosis. You were close!"

"You're an apronosis." I retorted.

"Aponeurosis."

"Whatever."

For the past hour, we'd been riddling our brains with terms from Anatomy– specifically names of muscles. It was the hardest thing I'd ever encountered.

And that topped playing hero.

"Me too, Emma." Micheal smirked. I raised my head from the now-damp desk and narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't see you faceplanting."

He flashed a boyish grin," That's because I'm good at hiding my feelings. Unlike **_some_** people."

"Were you the one hiding a secret power for five years?" I asked," And then took Sonic's place?"

Mia rolled her eyes and tapped the paper at my hands.

"Study. You can barely pronounce the words as it is!"

"That was very mean, ya know." Micheal said, completely brushing aside the white fox.

"Hey, I never asked to have super speed!" I exclaimed. He stroked his imaginary beard with feigned suspicion.

"Or did you?"

"Sternocleidomastoid!"

Immediately, we both jumped to the answer.

"Um...Uh.."

"Wait. Wait. I got this!!"

Her violet eyes sparkled at our squirms. She knew about our little competition, and albeit believed it to be the dumbest thing ever, even she used that to her advantage. We scraped every bit of or minds in a desperate scrabble to say the answer first.

"I know it attaches to the sternum..."

"STERNUM AND CLAVICLE!!!"

Again, the entire room went deadly silent. I physically shrunk in my seat, feeling a strong urge to whisk myself out of there.

"Miss Burns!" The teacher called," Let's use our inside voices rather than screaming our answers."

"Yessir." I responded curtly. Like a switch had been flipped, the scene reverted back to it's normal state.

"By the way," Mia grinned," you were correct."

After all that time memorizing, repeating, and playing guessing games, the bell finally signaled our sweet, sweet release. It was even better when I spotted Tyler waiting for me.

"Hey, there, Speedy!" He grinned. I flushed as several glances were tossed my way. Speedy? Who was this Speedy? Certainly not me, the newest member of the Sonic Team, would have a ridiculous name like THAT.

"Could you tone it down a bit?" I mumbled when I reached him.

"What?"

"The nickname!" I hissed," It's cool if it's at home, but here? I've gotta reputation to keep!"

He frowned, silver eyes glittering.

"Right. You fight robots now." He scowled," I can't say I don't agree with Mary. Most heroes don't live to see the age of forty, if that."

Mary, as in my Mom. Mary, as in the person who made me suffer all those years.

"But anyway!" He grinned," Are you still singing?"

"Like a bird!" A voice interrupted. Finally gracing us with her presence, Rose waltzed from the double doors to us.

"Seriously, you should've never given her the idea." She frowned," She's always humming or tapping or singing to herself. It's annoying."

I puffed out my cheeks with anger," You sing all the time!!"

"I sing using my fake voice." She corrected. Then she turned to Tyler and embraced him in a quick hug.

"Don't leave us this time." She smiled at him.

"Trust me, there's nothing in the world that's taking me from you guys."

My communicator buzzed and shattered the moment. Rose groaned as I held up my wrist to answer, and Tyler frowned as if he was just noticing it.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you??"

Immediately I could confirm the voice was Shadow. I didn't know any other person who would call me and use that tone of voice.

"Uuuh...Walking out of school?"

"School ended three minutes ago."

"Chill, grumpy pants. I'll be over in a flash."

I hung up before he could continue and gave my siblings an apologetic shrug.

"Tell Mom I'm at training." I told Rose. Her amber eyes wavered. Was she scared? Nah. That wasn't the Rose I knew. She wasn't scared of Mom. Our parents never put a burden on her.

To my surprise she said," When you get home, play with Dapple or something. She misses you."

Then she led Tyler away to our house, saying how Uncle Lou and Aunt Tara wouldn't mind him dropping by for a few minutes. For a little bit I stood there and watched. Depression–my oldest friend. It snuck a hand on my shoulder and squeezed with surprising strength.

For the first time since joining the gang, I wondered if I should just go home. What would I miss when I was gone? All the comments for Tyler? The warm greetings, the "you look just like your dad!"s? Mom's face lighting up for the first time in weeks...If she was out of bed, that is. I was missing the little things with each day that passed. I was never there to fix my broken relationship with Mom or take care of Dapple.

Holidays were just around the corner. I'd get more of a break, then, and things could go back to normal. But at the moment, I had a black and red "Ultimate Lifeform" probably seething and smoking with anger to deal with.


End file.
